How to Change Your Name After Marriage in Mississippi
Here's exactly how to change your name after marriage in Mississippi: the right documents, the right order, and the official Mississippi links you'll need.
Checked against official Mississippi and federal sources in August 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
The Mississippi order of operations
The winning sequence in Mississippi is: certified marriage certificate → Social Security (free, first) → wait 24–48 hours → Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Driver Service Bureau → passport → notify everyone. Each step verifies against the one before it, so order matters.
Every Mississippi step, in the right order
This page covers name change after marriage. Your free checklist puts it with the other agencies, sequenced for Mississippi, so nothing gets done out of order.
Step 1: Your certified marriage certificate
Order 3–5 certified copies from the Mississippi State Department of Health, Office of Vital Records & Statistics. Photocopies aren't accepted.
Good to know for Mississippi: Certified marriage certificates cost $17 (search + first copy; $6 each additional copy at same time). Order online/by phone through VitalChek (state-authorized vendor, https://www.vitalchek.com/vital-records/mississippi), by mail with a cashier's check/money order, or in person at the Ridgeland office (222 Marketridge Drive). Records for July 1938-Dec 1941 marriages are held by the county Circuit Clerk instead of MSDH.
Step 2–4: Social Security, then the DMV
File the free SS-5 with Social Security first, wait 24–48 hours, then update your license at the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Driver Service Bureau (typically the standard license fee (confirm the amount with the agency)). Bring:
- Certified/original marriage license (only original or certified copies accepted, no photocopies)
- Current Mississippi driver's license or ID card
- Original or certified birth certificate
- Social Security card
- Two proofs of Mississippi residency
Step 5–6: Passport, voter registration & everyone else
Update your passport, then your Mississippi voter registration (Voter registration (new or updated, e.g., after a name change) must be received by the county Circuit Clerk or postmarked at least 30 days before an election; if the 30th day falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. Mississippi has no same-day registration.), and finally your bank, employer, and insurers.
Mississippi FAQs
Sources
We checked the details on this page against the official sources below in August 2026. Rules and fees change, so confirm anything you are about to act on at the agency's own page. The legal citations were last re-read against their sources in October 2026. How we verify.
- State agencyMississippi: ordering a certified marriage certificate
- State agencyMississippi Department of Public Safety, Driver Service Bureau: name change on a license or ID
- State agencyMississippi Department of Public Safety, Driver Service Bureau: appointments
- State agencyMississippi official voter registration page
- State agencyMississippi Secretary of State: mail-in voter registration applicationThe state's application: postmarked or hand delivered no later than 30 days before an election.
- FederalSocial Security Administration: change your name
- FederalSocial Security Administration: Form SS-5
- FederalU.S. Department of State: change or correct a passport
NameWright is not a government agency and this is not legal advice. We prepare your paperwork; you file it.
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